Over the last three or four weeks I've read 24 HOURS TO KILL
by James McKimmey (1961), THE CONCRETE RIVER by John Shannon
(1996), and THE PRONE GUNMAN by Jean-Patrick Manchette
(English translation, 2002). I heard about all three writers
here on the list, these were the first I'd read of them, and
I liked all three and am going to read more.
I'd never made note of McKimmey before a recent burst of
discussion about him started by Mr. Guthrie's work. He'd been
mentioned before on the list, but I hadn't jotted down his
name. But then all of a sudden people were saying, "I just
read a book by him and it was great," or "I read all his
stuff when it came out, and he's one of the best," or "I
don't just read him, I'm going to republish everything he
wrote," or "James McKimmey saved my baby from a burning
house."
Things like that tell me about writers I know I'm going to
like. Which makes me wonder, where do rare birds find out
about new or old books and writers (aside from here)? Ed
Gorman seems to read something classic every time he waits
for the lights to change, and he mentions it all on his blog
Ed's Place. Mr. Lewis's MYSTERY*FILE has lots of reviews and
tips. I got hep to a lot of names in O'Brien's HARDBOILED
AMERICA and Lee Server's books. Where else should people go
to get pointers to good HB/noir stuff?
By the way, thank you Ms. Matkowski Perry for the John
Shannon book. The LA he describes is a hell of a town. Not
only am I going to read more of his stuff, I'm going to get
Mike Davis's CITY OF QUARTZ.
Bill
-- William Denton : Toronto, Canada : http://www.miskatonic.org/ : Caveat lector.
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